Federal authorities have launched a manhunt across a Utah college town for the lone gunman who shot and killed conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in a terrifying scene that shocked the nation on Wednesday.
Kirk, 31, was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem at around 12.20pm when he was suddenly shot in the neck – sending him toppling over in his chair as massive crowds fled the scene in terror. The father of two was then rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
It was believed that the unidentified gunman – whom the FBI says ‘appears to be of college age’ – opened fire from the roof of the Losee Center, where a shadowy figure was seen running just moments after the gunfire erupted.
The center is located 200 yards away from where Kirk was debating with college students and locals about political issues. He had just answered a question about gun violence when he was shot.
Police are searching for Kirk’s killer who may have sped away on a motorbike, dressed all in black with aviator sunglasses, a black mask and long rifle, police radio recordings suggest.
Descriptions, broadcast on public safety scanner audio obtained by the Daily Mail, included a man ‘wearing all black, black long gun, black tactical helmet, a black mask, possibly wearing a tactical vest and jeans,’ and ‘shoulder length hair, aviator glasses, black bag and a long gun’.
A high-powered rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter fled and has been sent to an FBI lab. Police are also analyzing footwear impressions, a palm print and forearm imprints.
Investigators reportedly found ammunition engraved with transgender and anti-facist remarks inside the discarded rifle, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Three unspent rounds with writing on them were also reportedly left inside the magazine.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative influencer, was shot dead on Wednesday at the age of 31 while speaking at Utah Valley University
Charlie Kirk’s assassin was dressed ‘all in black, long pants, black bag, aviator-style sunglasses with a long gun’ as he opened fire from the roof of a Utah Valley University campus building, chilling dispatch audio reveals
A manhunt continued Wednesday night for the unidentified shooter after officials confirmed two men they had taken into custody were not involved in the shooting
Around 12:47pm, about 35 minutes after the shooting, one officer radioed asking to track down a motorcyclist they thought could be a suspect.
‘Let’s try and get that motorcycle stop, it might be a suspect in that shooting,’ the officer said. ‘It is possibly a suspect from the shooting, if we can try and get that vehicle stopped.’
Law enforcement even launched a plane to scour the roads for the biker.
‘Plane is up and searching in the area for that motorcycle as well. Just keep an eye on the area and see If you can find anything out of place,’ a senior officer radioed around 12:54pm.
Dispatchers announced they had ‘a picture of a possible suspect’ and another officer said the description of the shooter was from the University’s CCTV footage.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X around 4.20pm that ‘the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody’.
But less than two hours later he announced the erstwhile suspect had been ‘released after an interrogation by law enforcement’ – meaning the shooter is likely still at large.
Though unconfirmed, it is possible Patel was referring to a man who was videoed cycling down a four-lane highway with a rifle slung over his shoulder about an hour after the shooting, six miles from UVU campus.
Law enforcement officials searched the Utah Valley University campus for the shooter Wednesday, but he still remains at large
Law enforcement work the active shooting scene at UVU in Orem on Wednesday afternoon
Authorities believe the shooter was perched above a building about 200 yards away from where Kirk was speaking to the crowd
A second video shared on social media on Wednesday afternoon showed the man being arrested.
Gloved Provo Police Department officers took his long gun – which had a cylinder at the end resembling a silencer – and rummaged through a small green bag of possessions he carried.
The handcuffed man appeared middle-aged and white, dressed in black slip-on shoes, black pants, a white t-shirt and white baseball cap.
In the aftermath of the shooting, officers at the university campus in Orem warned they were unable to close roads due to a chaotic stampede, with exits from the university ‘heavily congested with foot traffic and vehicle traffic’.
The investigation was also buffeted by a bizarre twist from the moment it started: a man at the front of Kirk’s audience who allegedly yelled that he was the shooter, falsely, while the 31-year-old father of two lay dying.
As panicked students fled the courtyard, George Zinn, 71, was filmed being dragged away by police with his pants around his ankles, yelling that he had the right to remain silent.
‘He claimed he did it. He started yelling it. But he didn’t even have a gun,’ UVU student Sawyer Carr, 18, told Daily Mail.
Carr was in the front row to Kirk’s right, and said Zinn was a couple of rows behind him.
‘I heard a gun fire. Then Charlie’s neck dropped back, he started gushing blood, and he just folded over,’ Carr said.
Senior officers repeatedly cut in on the countywide radio to warn that dispatch was ‘overwhelmed’ with all the calls coming in.
Kirk is seen moments before the fatal shooting tossing out hats to the crowd who had gathered to hear him speak
Kirk was seen sitting in a gazebo on campus and taking questions from the 3,000-person crowd before he was shot and killed
Amid the confusion, it wasn’t until about 12:56pm that an officer radioed he had searched and cleared the second floor of the Losee Center, the building where the shooter is now believed to have fired his deadly, single shot, about 200 yards away from Kirk’s tent at the campus amphitheater.
It took another five minutes to reach the roof, according to county dispatcher radio recordings.
Two videos caught glimpses of what appeared to be an individual on the roof, one just minutes before the shooting and one filmed right as the shot rang out across the courtyard.
By 1:30pm police had deployed a drone from the southwest corner of the campus and were scouring for signs of the man, but to no avail.
UVU Police Chief later admitted in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that they initially only had six officers alongside Kirk’s private security detail to handle the 3,000-strong crowd that day
However, officers from other local departments sped over as soon as the call went out – including SWAT snipers from the Metro division.
Another false lead came when Utah Valley staff called ‘advising they possibly have the shooter at the hospital’, around 3.15pm on police radio.
Hospital security were alerted, and a breathless-sounding officer said they were ‘arriving now’. But two minutes later they radioed in despondently that the patient was ‘not a match by any means’.
Law enforcement work the active shooting scene at Utah Valley University in Orem
Officials have vowed to pursue justice with Utah governor Spencer Cox noting that the state still has the death penalty.
‘To whoever did this: We will find you. We will try you and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,’ the governor warned the shooter at a news conference Wednesday night.
President Donald Trump later also vowed that his administration will find everyone involved with Kirk’s murder, as well as anyone else who has committed ‘political violence’.
The president spoke out about the ‘demonization’ of political opponents from the Oval Office in a four-minute video posted to his Truth Social account.
‘It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,’ he said.
‘For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.’
Trump went on to compare Kirk’s murder to the assassination attempt on his own life, the attacks on ICE agents, the alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
‘Radical Left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,’ he said as he remembered his good friend Kirk as ‘a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America.’
President Donald Trump was the first to announce Kirk’s passing
The president published a grave, four-minute statement on Kirk’s death from the Oval Office to his Truth Social account
He concluded by asking all Americans to commit themselves to Kirk’s values: ‘The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law and the patriotic devotion and love of God.’
‘Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country.’
The president had been the first to announce Kirk’s passing, declaring: ‘The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.
‘He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!’
The chaos erupted about 20 minutes into Kirk’s ‘American Comeback’ event, in which the MAGA star – wearing a white T-shirt – was seen sitting inside a tented gazebo taking questions from attendees.
He seemed to be having the time of his life ahead of the fatal shooting, as he handed out hats and spoke to the 3,000-person crowd.
‘WE. ARE. SO. BACK,’ Kirk wrote on social media just moments before the shooting.
‘Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.’
Around 12:20pm, Kirk was deep into a Q&A, speaking about mass shootings in America, when the gunfire erupted
People screamed as they ducked for safety, while some fell over while trying to escape
Panic spread through the crowd as people scrambled for safety
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika and two children
But before Kirk arrived on campus, an online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.
The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its ‘commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue’.
University police have since said they had six officers patrolling the scene and were working in conjunction with Kirk’s personal security team.
‘You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today, we didn’t,’ university police chief Jeff Long lamented at a news conference Wednesday night.
‘Because of that, we have this tragic incident.’
